Minister of basic education Siviwe Gwarube has called on the National Treasury to investigate alleged irregularities in the procurement of foundation phase textbooks.
This comes after reports circulating on social media claiming that the department of basic education (DBE) awarded a tender of R1.6bn to a Cape Town-based publishing company, Lighthouse Publishers (Pty) Ltd, which was allegedly registered three days after the contract specifications were issued.
Gwarube said these allegations were gravely concerning.
“At stake is the delivery of quality education materials to over 13.7-million learners across South Africa.”
She said any compromise in the integrity of textbook procurement threatened the ability of the education system to function effectively and undermined the constitutional right of every child to access basic education.
Gwarube has now written to finance minister Enoch Godongwana asking for a formal investigation into how the textbooks were procured.
“These allegations are serious and must be properly investigated because they involve the delivery of essential learning materials to schools,” she said.
Gwarube wants the National Treasury, which oversees government procurement rules, to examine whether proper procedures were followed and whether any wrongdoing took place during the awarding of contracts.
If the investigation found evidence of wrongdoing, action would follow.
“Should the investigation uncover malfeasance, I will not hesitate to act. Any and all those implicated will be dealt with,” she said.
TimesLIVE
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